(1) Definitions.
(a) Competent Person. An individual who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards at the job site; is knowledgeable of policies and practices that affect working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous or dangerous to employees or the public; and who has authority to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate such hazards and conditions.
(b) Excavation. A man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the Earth's surface formed by earth removal.
(c) Excavation Contractor. A person or business entity that performs or offers to perform excavation services.
(d) OSHA 30. The 30-hour program designed by the United States Occupational, Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") under its Outreach Training Program for Construction Industry for additional training of supervisors and workers with some safety responsibilities.
(e) OSHA 3015. The 20-hour program designed by OSHA under its Outreach Training Program for Construction Industry for additional training in the safety and health aspects of excavation, trenching, a soil mechanics.
(f) Serious Violation. An OSHA safety violation classification where OSHA has determined that there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a condition which exists, or from one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes which have been adopted or are in use, in such place of employment unless the employer did not, and could not with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of the presence of the violation.
(g) Site Safety Manager. A competent person employed by a licensed Excavation Contractor with OSHA 30 and OSHA 3015 training or an equivalent training program approved by the Department in the past five years to provide significant public safety benefit, appropriate to the position, whose primary responsibility is to ensure safe practices on construction sites.
(2) License and Required Conduct.
(a) No person or business entity shall act as an Excavation Contractor unless that entity possesses a current and valid license issued under this Section.
(.1) No excavation permit shall be issued without identifying the Excavation Contractor licensed pursuant to this Section.
(b) No person or business entity shall act as an Excavation Contractor without a site safety manager with the required qualifications on staff at all times. Required qualifications shall mean the qualifications necessary for the contractor to be licensed to perform such work. The site safety manager may not be concurrently employed by another licensed Excavation Contractor.
(c) An Excavation Contractor shall abide by:
(.1) all regulations issued by the Department of Public Health pursuant to Title 3, Air Management Code regarding the control of dust at demolition sites, including but not limited to:
(.a) dust control during excavation activity;
(.b) the proper storage and removal of materials;
(.c) cleaning dust from surrounding streets and sidewalks; and
(.d) controlling dust during the transportation of materials.
(.2) the Water Department's Storm Water Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations.
(.3) all other applicable requirements of law.
(3) Requirements for License.
(a) Application Requirements. Applications for an Excavation Contractor's license shall be made on forms to be supplied by the Department. No license or renewal shall be issued until the applicant:
(.1) provides the Department with the information required by subsection 9-1004(4);
(.2) provides the Department with proof that the applicant has obtained the insurance and bonding required by this Section; and
(.3) identifies at least one site safety manager employed by the company who will supervise excavation projects for the Excavation Contractor.
(.a) If the Excavation Contractor changes its site safety manager the contractor shall notify the Department within ten days of employment of the new site safety manager and provide any necessary documentation with respect to their required qualifications.
(b) A license issued under this Section shall be valid for one year. The annual fee for the license shall be one hundred three dollars ($103) or such other amount as established by the Department by regulation.
(4) Insurance and Bonding Requirements. All Excavation Contractors licensed under this Section shall at all times maintain, at a minimum, the following types and amounts of insurance and bonding:
(a) Insurance Requirements. In addition to the insurance requirements of subsection 9-1001(5), the Excavation Contractor shall maintain comprehensive general liability, including products and completed operations, of a minimum limit of liability of two million dollars ($2,000,000) per occurrence.
(b) Bonding Requirements.
(.1) A license bond in an amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) shall be maintained. The bond shall be issued by a surety company holding a certificate of authority to transact business in Pennsylvania, having a minimum surety underwriting limitation of one million dollars ($1,000,000).
(.2) Proof of bonding shall be submitted on a form approved by the Law Department.
(5) License Suspension and Revocation; Other Remedies.
(a) In addition to the requirements in subsection 9-1004(9), the Department may suspend or revoke any license granted under this Section for any of the following reasons:
(.1) determination by OSHA of a serious violation during the work of the contractor;
(.2) significant violation of a requirement of Chapter 33 (Safeguards During Construction) of Subcode B (The Philadelphia Building Code) of Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code (The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code); or
(.3) any significant violation of a provision of this Section, including but not limited to the License and Required Conduct provisions of subsection (2) of this Section.
(b) Action against a license bond concerning an Excavation Contractor's 1072 failure to meet the requirements of this Section or an excavation permit may be taken by the Department.
Notes
| 1071 | Added, Bill No. 210389 (approved July 15, 2021), effective January 1, 2023. |
| 1072 | Reference to "a Demolition Contractor's" revised by Code editor to reflect the title used by Bill No. 210389 (approved July 15, 2021), effective January 1, 2023. |